Marion funeral homes work to meet growing demand for cremations

Justin Baxley, the chief customer officer of Foundation Partners, describes some of the features of the Vine of Life in the Pathways of Peace Memorial Garden, which contains many areas for cremated remains of loved ones at Highland Memorial Park in Ocala, Fla. on Friday, Nov. 15, 2013.

Published: Monday, November 18, 2013 at 7:43 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, November 18, 2013 at 7:43 p.m.

Statistics show a steady, marked increase in recent years in Americans choosing cremation over burial when they make funeral arrangements for loved ones.

In few states is that trend more pronounced than in Florida.

In fact, Florida ranks second behind only Texas in highest average growth per year between 2006 and 2010, according to data from the Cremation Association of North America.

The same report shows cremations as a percentage of arrangements in Florida increasing from 51.4 percent (88,082 cremations) in 2006 to 58.1 percent (101,697) in 2010.

Those in Marion County's funeral profession say that sort of demand requires them to offer more choices and creativity in memorializing.

Justin Baxley is the senior vice president and customer care officer for Hiers-Baxley Funeral Home and Highland Memorial Park, which is a division of Foundation Partners. Baxley said his company offers 16 different options for placement of cremated remains within Highland Memorial Park, 11 of them within one garden called “Pathways of Peace.”

“I would say a lot of the innovation has come from people saying what they didn't want, rather than what they did,” Baxley said. “At Hiers-Baxley, for example, seven out of 10 families that we serve select cremation. Still, surprisingly, the majority of families that we meet with will say that they've never arranged for a cremation before, so they don't know what choices are available. It's up to us to give them those choices.”

At Highland Memorial Park, options include a columbarium, similar to a mausoleum, but with smaller niches for cremation urns. One columbarium is covered on one side with an elaborate, colorful “Celebration of Life” mosaic fashioned in Italy and depicting the first Mass said in St. Augustine in 1565. The park also has benches and statue-like pedestals for holding cremated remains, as well as memorials for families choosing not to keep remains at the park. Those include cenotaphs listing the name and life dates of the deceased, memorial curbing, and a “Vine of Life” memorializing loved ones with their names engraved on bronze plaques shaped like leaves.

Highland Memorial Park is also home to a “Celebration of Life” area accessible only by pass code. Inside are glass-front niches filled with pictures and mementos of loved ones.

“The idea of a permanent shadow box for placement of cremated remains as well as memorabilia,” Baxley said. “It's the only way you can create a memorial in the cemetery that can be updated any time you want to. We literally have events in this room twice a year where we invite families back to update what's inside the niche if they want to.”

Bruce Sessler, manager of Roberts Funeral Home/Downtown Ocala Chapel, said cremations account for 69 percent of business there. He said the ability to create highly personalized memorials is key to meeting customer demand nowadays.

Sessler recalls getting a flash of inspiration during a meeting with family members of a woman who loved to play the slot machines on the old SunCruz Casino boats out of St. Petersburg. With the family's OK, Sessler called a friend who had a couple of slots and borrowed them for the woman's memorial service, before which he handed a token to each guest.

“After the daughters and the clergy spoke, I got up and said 'Now is the time for the tribute. Each of you was given a token. I want each of you to come forward and put the token in the slot machine, rack the handle and walk away as a tribute.' ”

“That was five years ago,” Sessler said. “To this day people are still talking about that.”

Growing demand

Those in the industry give differing reasons for what's driving demand for cremations. Cost is one, Baxley said.

“In this cemetery you can place cremated remains and have permanent memorialization for less than a thousand dollars,” he said. “If you were doing something with a casketed placement, you're going to start, when you think of the burial vault, you're talking easily $4,000 to $5,000 to start.”

The mobile nature of Floridians' lives is another, according to Sessler.

“In areas like Marion County, Pasco, Hillsborough, Sarasota, counties that have a lot of people who moved from up North to retire, their roots aren't as strong as they used to be,” he said. “For them, it's becoming more prevalent for them to have a celebration of life service with the person being cremated and then they'll take that person back to their hometown cemetery and place their loved one there, instead of having a service here and having a service up North.”

Michael Eddy is president of Matthews International/Cemetery Products in Pittsburgh, a leading maker of funeral home products, which made many of the memorials in Highland Park Cemetery. He said baby boomers are driving the market in funerals and memorials as they are practically everywhere else.

“The purchasing power of the baby boomer is unlimited,” Eddy said by phone from his office in Pittsburgh. “You just have to give them what they want, and they don't want what their mom and dad and their grandparents had.”

The idea of conservation and so-called green business practices is also a factor, according to Baxley.

“We're seeing a lot of people desire to have less of an impact to take up less space, leave less behind in terms of closing the chapter on our lives,” he said.

Resistance lingers

Cremations have traditionally been a tougher sell in the African-American community, to name one market segment.

Wayne Sellers, owner of Sellers Funeral Home, said that is still the case for his business, which has a predominantly African-American clientele. He estimates cremations account for less than 20 percent of his business.

“For a lot of folk it's like, 'We just don't want our family member cremated. The cost has nothing to do with it. We just don't want that to take place,' ” said Sellers.

“Whether it's financial, whether it's belief, there are different types of circumstances that surround a person's decision,” he said.

However, Sellers, who has been in the business since 1993, said he thinks things may shift soon, with the main consideration being financial.

“It's like anything else,” he said. “It's coming. It's just a matter of when, but it's coming, so we're preparing ourselves for the change.”

Looking ahead

In the meantime, those in the industry expect demand for cremations to continue growing rapidly. Baxley said his company has about three acres of 55-acre Highland Memorial Park in central Ocala dedicated to cremation, with only a half-acre developed so far.

Eddy says he travels to some 300 locations per year in his job and says he visits 200 to 300 customers in the industry each year and hears the same thing at each location — that cremations are on the increase.

“I think those who embrace it and work to satisfy the need of the customer will do extremely well,” Eddy said.

“Those cemeteries who haven't embraced it need to make sure they are embracing it because that's where the opportunity lies,” he said. “If they don't, they might as well put out a sign that says 'Slowly but surely going out of business.' ”

<p>Statistics show a steady, marked increase in recent years in Americans choosing cremation over burial when they make funeral arrangements for loved ones.</p><p>In few states is that trend more pronounced than in Florida.</p><p>In fact, Florida ranks second behind only Texas in highest average growth per year between 2006 and 2010, according to data from the Cremation Association of North America. </p><p>The same report shows cremations as a percentage of arrangements in Florida increasing from 51.4 percent (88,082 cremations) in 2006 to 58.1 percent (101,697) in 2010.</p><p>Those in Marion County's funeral profession say that sort of demand requires them to offer more choices and creativity in memorializing.</p><p>Justin Baxley is the senior vice president and customer care officer for Hiers-Baxley Funeral Home and Highland Memorial Park, which is a division of Foundation Partners. Baxley said his company offers 16 different options for placement of cremated remains within Highland Memorial Park, 11 of them within one garden called “Pathways of Peace.”</p><p>“I would say a lot of the innovation has come from people saying what they didn't want, rather than what they did,” Baxley said. “At Hiers-Baxley, for example, seven out of 10 families that we serve select cremation. Still, surprisingly, the majority of families that we meet with will say that they've never arranged for a cremation before, so they don't know what choices are available. It's up to us to give them those choices.”</p><p>At Highland Memorial Park, options include a columbarium, similar to a mausoleum, but with smaller niches for cremation urns. One columbarium is covered on one side with an elaborate, colorful “Celebration of Life” mosaic fashioned in Italy and depicting the first Mass said in St. Augustine in 1565. The park also has benches and statue-like pedestals for holding cremated remains, as well as memorials for families choosing not to keep remains at the park. Those include cenotaphs listing the name and life dates of the deceased, memorial curbing, and a “Vine of Life” memorializing loved ones with their names engraved on bronze plaques shaped like leaves.</p><p>Highland Memorial Park is also home to a “Celebration of Life” area accessible only by pass code. Inside are glass-front niches filled with pictures and mementos of loved ones.</p><p>“The idea of a permanent shadow box for placement of cremated remains as well as memorabilia,” Baxley said. “It's the only way you can create a memorial in the cemetery that can be updated any time you want to. We literally have events in this room twice a year where we invite families back to update what's inside the niche if they want to.”</p><p>Bruce Sessler, manager of Roberts Funeral Home/Downtown Ocala Chapel, said cremations account for 69 percent of business there. He said the ability to create highly personalized memorials is key to meeting customer demand nowadays.</p><p>Sessler recalls getting a flash of inspiration during a meeting with family members of a woman who loved to play the slot machines on the old SunCruz Casino boats out of St. Petersburg. With the family's OK, Sessler called a friend who had a couple of slots and borrowed them for the woman's memorial service, before which he handed a token to each guest.</p><p>“After the daughters and the clergy spoke, I got up and said 'Now is the time for the tribute. Each of you was given a token. I want each of you to come forward and put the token in the slot machine, rack the handle and walk away as a tribute.' ”</p><p>“That was five years ago,” Sessler said. “To this day people are still talking about that.”</p><p><b>Growing demand</b></p><p>Those in the industry give differing reasons for what's driving demand for cremations. Cost is one, Baxley said.</p><p>“In this cemetery you can place cremated remains and have permanent memorialization for less than a thousand dollars,” he said. “If you were doing something with a casketed placement, you're going to start, when you think of the burial vault, you're talking easily $4,000 to $5,000 to start.”</p><p>The mobile nature of Floridians' lives is another, according to Sessler.</p><p>“In areas like Marion County, Pasco, Hillsborough, Sarasota, counties that have a lot of people who moved from up North to retire, their roots aren't as strong as they used to be,” he said. “For them, it's becoming more prevalent for them to have a celebration of life service with the person being cremated and then they'll take that person back to their hometown cemetery and place their loved one there, instead of having a service here and having a service up North.”</p><p>Michael Eddy is president of Matthews International/Cemetery Products in Pittsburgh, a leading maker of funeral home products, which made many of the memorials in Highland Park Cemetery. He said baby boomers are driving the market in funerals and memorials as they are practically everywhere else.</p><p>“The purchasing power of the baby boomer is unlimited,” Eddy said by phone from his office in Pittsburgh. “You just have to give them what they want, and they don't want what their mom and dad and their grandparents had.”</p><p>The idea of conservation and so-called green business practices is also a factor, according to Baxley.</p><p>“We're seeing a lot of people desire to have less of an impact to take up less space, leave less behind in terms of closing the chapter on our lives,” he said.</p><p><b>Resistance lingers</b></p><p>Cremations have traditionally been a tougher sell in the African-American community, to name one market segment.</p><p>Wayne Sellers, owner of Sellers Funeral Home, said that is still the case for his business, which has a predominantly African-American clientele. He estimates cremations account for less than 20 percent of his business.</p><p>“For a lot of folk it's like, 'We just don't want our family member cremated. The cost has nothing to do with it. We just don't want that to take place,' ” said Sellers.</p><p>“Whether it's financial, whether it's belief, there are different types of circumstances that surround a person's decision,” he said.</p><p>However, Sellers, who has been in the business since 1993, said he thinks things may shift soon, with the main consideration being financial.</p><p>“It's like anything else,” he said. “It's coming. It's just a matter of when, but it's coming, so we're preparing ourselves for the change.”</p><p><b>Looking ahead</b></p><p>In the meantime, those in the industry expect demand for cremations to continue growing rapidly. Baxley said his company has about three acres of 55-acre Highland Memorial Park in central Ocala dedicated to cremation, with only a half-acre developed so far.</p><p>Eddy says he travels to some 300 locations per year in his job and says he visits 200 to 300 customers in the industry each year and hears the same thing at each location — that cremations are on the increase.</p><p>“I think those who embrace it and work to satisfy the need of the customer will do extremely well,” Eddy said.</p><p>“Those cemeteries who haven't embraced it need to make sure they are embracing it because that's where the opportunity lies,” he said. “If they don't, they might as well put out a sign that says 'Slowly but surely going out of business.' ”</p>